2021

DFG New Year’s Address 2021

(11.01.21) For the first time, the DFG and the academic research community in Germany have started the new year off virtually. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional DFG New Year’s reception was held as an online event. Following the New Year’s address by DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker, the more than 400 registered guests representing academia, politics and society had the opportunity to meet digitally via an online platform.

DFG Sets a New Course for Open Access

(25.01.21) The DFG is increasing its efforts to enable free online access to publications and other research findings and has therefore adopted and implemented further measures. Subsidies towards publication fees are being awarded and have been since autumn 2020, and the establishment and expansion of suitable publication infrastructures is being promoted. more

Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes 2021 announced

(11.03.21) Four female and six male researchers will receive the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize this year, the top award for early career investigators in Germany. This was the result of a decision made by a selection committee appointed by the DFG and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The prizes are each worth €20,000 and will be presented at a virtual event on 4 May. more

DFG extends financial aid for funded research projects

(26.03.21) The DFG is extending its financial aid for research projects and researchers affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown. At its virtual spring meeting, the DFG Joint Committee extended its support measures for numerous funding programmes that have been in place since May 2020. Individual measures are being prolonged or newly added. more

Nine Research Units and One Clinical Research Unit

(29.03.21) The DFG is setting up six new Research Units and one new Clinical Research Unit. The DFG Joint Committee decided this on the recommendation of the Senate. The new Research Units will receive total funding of approximately €41 million, including a 22-percent programme allowance for indirect project-related costs. The decision has also been made to extend the funding of five Research Units for a second period. more

DFG Establishes 13 New Priority Programmes

(29.03.21) The DFG is establishing 13 new Priority Programmes for 2022. This was decided by the DFG Senate at a meeting that was held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 13 new consortia were selected from 47 submitted initiatives and will receive a total of approximately €82 million for an initial three years. more

Principles of effective career support in academia

(30.03.21) At the recommendation of the Senate, the Joint Committee of the DFG has now adopted ten principles for the effective support of researchers in early career phases. The principles are intended as a guide for the DFG’s member institutions, as well as for all institutions and individuals that receive funding from the DFG to finance researchers in an early phase of their career. more

DFG Publishes Reports on Doctorates in Consortia

(30.03.21) The DFG has published two detailed reports on the subject of doctorates. They contain extensive up-to-date statistical data on the duration of doctoral programmes as well as details of the ratio between completed and non-completed doctorates in the research consortia funded by the DFG. The two reports are among the most reliable and detailed sources of statistics on doctorates in Germany. more

Communicator Award 2021 goes to Jürgen Richter-Gebert

Communicator Award 2021: Prof. Dr. Jürgen Richter-Gebert

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Richter-Gebert

© Andreas Heddergott, Astrid Eckert / TUM

(20.04.21) This year’s Communicator Award presented by the DFG and Stifterverband goes to the mathematician Professor Jürgen Richter-Gebert. An expert in geometry and visualisation from the Technical University of Munich, Professor Richter-Gebert receives the award worth €50,000 for his versatility in communicating abstract mathematical content to make it visible, audible and comprehensible. The award will be presented on 7 July 2021 at the DFG’s virtual Annual General Meeting. more

“Strengthen Knowledge-Driven Research, Benefit from Knowledge Reservoirs”

(05.05.21) In an impulse paper for the 20th legislative period of the German Bundestag, the DFG has set out what it considers to be the most important areas of action and recommendations to ensure that the sciences and humanities can continue to play a key role in addressing major challenges in the future. “Strengthen Knowledge-Driven Research, Benefit from Knowledge Repositories” is the title of the recently published paper that is addressed to policymakers in view of the upcoming federal election campaign. more

DFG to Fund 17 New Research Training Groups

(10.05.21) The DFG is establishing 17 new Research Training Groups (RTGs) to bolster the support offered to early career researchers. This was announced by the Grants Committee, which met by video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the decision was made to extend 14 RTGs for a further funding period in each case. The DFG currently funds a total of 219 RTGs, including 34 international RTGs. more

Germany’s Excellence Strategy: Laying the Foundations for the Second Round of Competition Early On

(11.05.21) The success of the Excellence Strategy being pursued by the German federal and state governments is already visible and can only continue if the foundations are laid for the second round of competition early on. Following the Expert Committee for the Excellence Strategy, a “Discussion Forum on Clusters of Excellence 2021” organised by the DFG has now also spoken out in favour of increasing funding. more

Eleven New Collaborative Research Centres

(25.05.21) The DFG is establishing eleven new Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) to promote world-class research at universities. This was announced by the relevant Grants Committee, which met by video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. The new CRCs will initially receive a total of approximately €138 million over a period of four years from 1 July 2021 onwards. 27 other CRCs have had their funding extended for an extra period. more

DFG President Katja Becker Elected GRC Chair

(28.05.21) The DFG continues to play a key role within the Global Research Council (GRC), thereby taking on responsibility for global cooperation in research funding: DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker has now been elected Chair of the Governing Board of the GRC. The elections took place as part of the Ninth Annual Meeting of research funding organisations from all over the world. more

DFG Presents Awards to Selected Jugend forscht Winners

(31.05.21) The DFG has awarded its Europa Prize to selected winners of the national Jugend forscht competition. Four young researchers recently received the award at the virtual Jugend forscht finals in Heilbronn in addition to their national prize. The focus here is on preparing the winners for the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) in September. more

“Emergency Associations of German Science”

(01.06.21) The recently published study Notgemeinschaften der Wissenschaft (“Emergency Associations of Science”) takes a comprehensive and critical look at the history of the DFG, examining science-driven research funding in Germany in the first half of the organisation’s 100-year existence. Historian Patrick Wagner traces the development of the DFG from the founding of its predecessor organisation in 1920, through the Weimar Republic and the National Socialist era to its re-establishment after the Second World War and its development in the Federal Republic of Germany up until the early 1970s. more

51 New Projects Dedicated to Research into Epidemics and Pandemics

(08.06.21) The DFG is funding more than 50 new interdisciplinary projects dedicated to research into epidemics and pandemics. This is the result of the largest interdisciplinary call for proposals ever to be issued in this field. The first projects started at the beginning of the year and the last funding decisions have now been made. A total of 51 projects are due to receive total funding of €31.5 million. more

Virtual DFG Annual Meeting from 5–7 July 2021

(21.06.21) The DFG is due to hold its 2021 Annual Meeting from 5 to 7 July. Current issues such as the coronavirus pandemic and digitalisation are on the agenda of the statutory bodies, as well as funding decisions and elections. In addition, the DFG and the Stifterverband will be holding a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the predecessor organisations which was postponed in 2020. All meetings and events will again take place in virtual form. more

DFG Senate Commission Presents 2021 List of MAK and BAT Values

(01.07.21) The DFG Permanent Senate Commission for the Investigation of Health Hazards of Chemical Compounds in the Work Area has presented the 57th List of MAK and BAT Values. The list was submitted to the Federal Minister of Labour and serves as an essential scientific basis for changes and modifications of statutory regulations in the field of occupational health and safety. The list contains 95 supplements and new entries this year, as well as new threshold limit values for lead. more

Launch of the Transparency Agreement for Animal Research

(01.07.21) The DFG and the information platform “Understanding Animal Research” of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany are launching their “Transparency Agreement for Transparent Information and Open Communication about Animal Research” today. In the context of the initiative, research institutions undertake to inform about animal experiments transparently, to get actively involved in dialogue about animal experiments in research, as well as to exchange experiences and publicise activities. more

NFDI: DFG welcomes second-round funding decisions

(02.07.21) The Joint Science Conference of the Federal Government and the Länder (GWK) decided to fund ten further consortia in the National Research Data Infrastructure programme (NFDI). The DFG was again responsible for the selection, reviewing and evaluation process in the second funding round of the NFDI that is now complete. more

DFG Research Centre Funded for Another Three Years

(06.07.21) After two funding periods, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) will be funded for another three years. This decision was taken by the DFG Joint Committee. The three applicant universities of Leipzig, Jena and Halle-Wittenberg will therefore receive approximately €34 million from October 2021 onwards, plus a programme allowance of 22 percent. more

DFG to Fund 13 New Research Units

(06.07.21) The DFG is establishing 13 new Research Units. The DFG Joint Committee decided this on 6 July on the recommendation of the Senate. The new Research Units will receive total funding of approximately €47.4 million, including a 22-percent programme allowance for indirect project-related costs. It also decided that funding for nine Research Units was to be extended for a second period. more

Four New Members of the DFG Senate

(07.07.21) The DFG General Assembly elected four new members to the Senate on 7 July. Five Senate members were confirmed for another term. Of the four newly filled Senate seats, two are in the humanities and social sciences and one each in the life sciences and natural sciences. more

Four New Members of the DFG Executive Committee

(07.07.21) The DFG has four new Vice Presidents: on 7 July, the General Assembly elected experimental physicist Professor Dr. Karin Jacobs, empirical macrosociologist Professor Dr. Matthias Koenig, biochemist Professor Dr. Peter H. Seeberger and political scientist and former President of the Federal Constitutional Court Professor Dr. Andreas Voßkuhle to the DFG Executive Committee. more

DFG Member Organisations Approve Amendments to Statutes

(07.07.21) The DFG General Assembly approved a set of amendments to the statutes on 7 July. The main changes include the addition of a preamble, a revision of the governance of the DFG and an adaptation of the language used, in particular with regard to gender equality. more

Key Challenges in Focus

(08.07.21) The DFG’s annual press conference with President Katja Becker and Secretary General Heide Ahrens on 8 July focused on the annual meeting, which had concluded the day before, and current issues relating to research, the research system and research policy. Topics included the DFG’s activities in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, stimuli for the upcoming legislative period of the Bundestag and universities of applied sciences. The 2020 DFG Annual Report was also presented. more

Prevention of Coronavirus Infection through Aerosols

(27.07.21) An academic position paper has now been published that provides a summary of findings on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 viruses through aerosols. It aims to help contribute to a reliable information base that is broadly coordinated among specialists as well as offering concrete advice on how to guard against infection. more

Largest Networking Event for Academic Careers in Germany

(23.08.21) At its 21st annual conference and Talent Fair the German Academic International Network (GAIN) brings together early career academics from Germany as well as international researchers with high-ranking German representatives from academia, politics and business from 25 to 27 August. Around 1,000 attendees are expected to take part in the virtual networking event. more

Early Achievements in the Geosciences

(26.08.21) Simon Rosanka, a doctoral student at the University of Cologne and Forschungszentrum Jülich, and Jan Schönig, a doctoral student at the University of Göttingen, will receive the DFG’s Bernd Rendel Prize 2021 for promising and original early-career research in the geosciences. The prize money of €2,000 is intended to enable the prizewinners to pursue academic activities such as attending international congresses and conferences. more

All DFG Europa Prize Winners Successful in Salamanca

(20.09.21) All four winners of the DFG’s Europa Prize 2021 also received international distinctions at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) 2021 in Salamanca, Spain. This year the event took place virtually from 16 to 19 September. more

Six New Research Units, One New Clinical Research Unit and One New Centre for Advanced Studies

(24.09.21) The DFG is establishing six new Research Units, one new Clinical Research Unit and one new Centre for Advanced Studies. This was decided by the DFG Joint Committee on 23 September at the recommendation of the Senate. The new Research Units will receive total funding of approximately €31.4 million, including a 22 percent programme allowance for indirect project costs. The decision has also been made to extend the funding of six Research Units for an additional period. more

All the Key Figures on Publicly Financed Research and Funding

Förderatlas 2021

(05.10.21) The DFG presented the “Funding Atlas 2021” together with the HRK and the Stifterverband. It is the most comprehensive current compendium on publicly financed research and its funding in Germany. In addition to first-time analyses of the distribution of third-party funding broken down by federal state and rankings based on higher education institution and subject, other topics include international cooperation and two special historical analyses of funding prior to 1945 and since reunification. more

DFG Congratulates Benjamin List

(06.10.21) The DFG congratulates Professor Dr. Benjamin List on the award of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2021. The researcher from the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohleforschung in Mülheim receives this year’s award together with David W.C. MacMillan for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis. DFG President Professor Dr. Katja Becker said: “The DFG congratulates Benjamin List, who has established an entirely new field of catalysis and catalysis research. We previously honoured this groundbreaking achievement by awarding him the DFG’s Leibniz Prize in 2016.” more

Urgent action required concerning health research data

(15.10.21) The Interdisciplinary Commission for Pandemic Research of the DFG calls for data for health-related research to be made more readily available and more linkable. In a statement, the Commission highlights five fields of action that should be addressed jointly. more

German-American Exchange on the Responsibility of Universities and Science towards Democracy

(19.10.21) The political responsibility of universities and science towards democratic culture was the focus of a transatlantic online symposium jointly hosted last week by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), the DFG, the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) and Thomas Mann House (TMH). The event is intended to be a prelude to deepen German-American exchange on the supporting role of universities in democratic systems. more

DFG to Fund 14 New Research Training Groups

(08.11.21) The DFG is establishing 14 new Research Training Groups (RTGs) to further bolster the support offered to early career researchers. This was announced by the relevant Grants Committee, which met by video conference. The Grants Committee also agreed to extend funding for another 12 RTGs for an additional funding period. The DFG currently funds a total of 218 RTGs, including 35 international RTGs. more

Award ceremony on 16th November 2021

(15.11.21) In 2020 the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has honoured four researchers with the Eugen and Ilse Seibold Prize. Through years of dedication, they have successfully contributed to both academic and cultural exchange between Germany and Japan. On 16th November 2021 the four awardees were celebrated in an online ceremony. more

In Search of Solutions for the Future

(17.11.21) On Monday, 15 November, the DFG organised a broad-based networking meeting with academics working on DFG-funded projects in the field of pandemic research. Around 300 participants from more than 100 pandemic-related projects gathered for the digital dialogue entitled “Preparedness for Future Pandemics from a Global Perspective”. The focus was on interdisciplinary networking and initiating additional projects. more

DFG congratulates Uğur Şahin and his team on award

(18.11.21) The DFG congratulates Professor Dr. Uğur Şahin, Dr. Özlem Türeci, Professor Dr. Christoph Huber and Professor Katalin Karikó, PhD, of the Mainz-based company BioNTech on receiving the Future Prize 2022. The team received the distinction for its development of a COVID-19 vaccine based on preliminary work originally carried out as part of DFG-funded projects. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier presented the prize yesterday evening in Berlin. more

14 New Collaborative Research Centres

(25.11.21) The DFG is establishing 14 new Collaborative Research Centres (CRC) to promote world-class research at universities. This was announced by the relevant Grants Committee, which met by video conference. The new CRCs will initially receive a total of approximately €141 million over a period of four years from 1 January 2022 onwards. 20 other CRCs have had their funding extended for an extra period. more

DFG Welcomes Future Federal Government’s Plans

(26.11.21) The DFG welcomes the future Federal Government’s plans for science and research. “This reflects a strong commitment to the importance of free, curiosity-driven basic research dedicated to Germany’s future viability and prosperity,” emphasises DFG President Katja Becker in a statement on the coalition agreement between the SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP. more

Von Kaven Honorary Award 2021 Goes to Mathematician Moritz Weber

(29.11.21) This year’s von Kaven Honorary Award goes to Professor Dr. Moritz Weber for his achievements in the field of quantum groups and symmetries. The €10,000 DFG award will be presented on 6 December September in connection with the Gauss Lectureship of the German Mathematical Society (DMV) in Bremen. The event will also be streamed live. more

DFG Honours Ten Researchers – Five Women and Five Men

(09.12.21) The latest recipients of the most prestigious research funding prize in Germany have been announced: the Joint Committee of the DFG today awarded the 2022 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize to ten researchers – five women and five men. The prizewinners each receive prize money of €2.5 million. They are entitled to use these funds for their research work in any way they wish for a period of up to seven years. more

DFG to Fund Eight New Research Units

(10.12.21) The DFG is establishing eight new Research Units. This was decided by the DFG Joint Committee at its virtual meeting at the recommendation of the Senate. The decision has also been made to extend the funding of eight Research Units for an additional period. The subjects range from brain development to dental implants and obesity therapy. more

DFG Extends Support for Refugee Researchers

(13.12.21) The DFG is expanding its support for academics who have fled their home countries. The Walter Benjamin Programme will now also be open to refugee researchers at any stage of their career. The programme is designed to enable them to independently pursue their own research project at the location of their choice. more

Six Concepts Receive Award for International Research Marketing

(21.12.21) As a partner organisation of the “Research in Germany” initiative, the DFG awards the newly established Community Prize for international research marketing to six project ideas . The Leuphana University of Lüneburg, the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technology, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, the TU Dresden in cooperation with the University of Würzburg, the University of Jena and the University of Leipzig each receive €20,000 prize money. more

The DFG Head Office will be closed until 2 January

(22.12.21) DFG Head Office employees in Bonn and Berlin will be out of office from 24 December 2021 through 2 January 2022 and will resume work as of 3 January 2022.

The DFG is wishing all users of www.dfg.de peaceful holidays and all the best – most of all good health – for 2022.